In silico assessment of gene function involved in cysteine biosynthesis in Arabidopsis: expression analysis of multiple isoforms of serine acetyltransferase.

In plants, the inorganic sulfur is first fixed into cysteine by the cysteine biosynthetic pathway. This biosynthetic pathway of cysteine involves several enzymatic reactions. In Arabidopsis thaliana, multiple isoforms seem to participate in each enzymatic step for cysteine biosynthesis. To obtain more insights on the specific role of each isoform involved in the cysteine biosynthesis, in silico analysis of these isoforms using Arabidopsis expressed sequence tags (EST) database was carried out. This EST database analysis revealed distinct population distribution of ESTs among multiple isoforms, suggesting that each isoform has its particular expression pattern, presumably associated with its specific role in cysteine biosynthesis. As another in silico analysis, co-expression analysis of genes involved in sulfur metabolism in Arabidopsis was performed using a public transcriptome database of DNA microarrays. This co-expression analysis also suggested specific function and co-regulation of some isoform genes for cysteine biosynthesis by consideration on the clustering of co-expressed genes. From the results of sensitivity to feedback regulation, subcellular localization and expression of mRNA analyses, each serine acetyltransferase (SATase) isoform seems to have its specific role for cysteine biosynthesis. Similar expression patterns were observed between the experimental results of expression data for SATase isoforms and the in silico results of "digital northern" analysis using EST database.